25 jobs go at Mamaku mill

FILE

A Mamaku sawmill will close at the end of this month, with the loss of 25 jobs and fears of a "ripple effect" on other local businesses.

Mamaku Sawmill Co Ltd director Bill Taylor met with employees on Wednesday to tell them the news.

He said the company had been losing money since 2012 and the losses were no longer sustainable.

"Along with numerous other sawmills around New Zealand that have closed, Mamaku Sawmilling Co Ltd has struggled to combat the difficult trading conditions," the company said in a statement yesterday.

"The business has been adversely impacted by the increases in the price and availability of pruned logs, and the historically high exchange rate.

"A low production volume has made reinvestment in the ageing plant not viable."

A final decision on the sawmill's future would be announced next Wednesday, following consultation with employees and the union, it said.

The company's processing site in Ngongotaha, where 20 staff are employed, would continue to operate while other options were considered.

Mamaku Residents and Ratepayers Group secretary John Rush said rumours of the mill's closure had been circulating for a while.

"I think everyone was pretty clued-up about it, but no one really, really expected it to happen. All of the workers come from Rotorua so a lot of good Rotorua people will be losing their jobs."

He said the closure would have a ripple effect on local business.

"The sad thing is when they close that sort of thing other businesses feel it," he said. "The garage probably, and the store where they buy their lunches, but other than that it won't have a big effect on the town.

"This mill is going to be the tenth mill in the country that's gone 'phut'. It's a big worry to us all. We've got the timber now with the dairy industry having low payout, and sawn timber mills closing all over the country - what's next? These could be tough times."